This invention relates generally to gift card holders and more particularly to a device for holding a gift card or gift card packet while providing graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift, namely a sliding panel for holding a gift card, the panel being mounted in a sleeve, pouch or bag so that when the cover flap is opened the panel is drawn upward and out of the sleeve to reveal a gift card secured upon the panel.
Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards, as they are commonly called based upon their intended use, have become popular gifts. Gift cards typically comprise a stored value card whereby a certain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnetic strip applied to the surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by the vendor prior to packaging and display for sale or, more commonly, is selected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashier using a magnetic card reader/writer. While popular, gift cards are typically provided with a generic and impersonal design, typically identifying the associated merchant for which the card may be used to purchase merchandise, and therefore are not personalized in view of the intended recipient.
What is needed, therefore, is a gift card holder that provides graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift, and that presents a gift card to a recipient through mechanical linkage with a holder flap, such that, as the gift recipient raises the flap, the gift card is raised out of a holder sleeve, pouch or bag.